Stuffed Flounder Florentine is a delicious restaurant-quality dish that is perfect for a date night dinner or fancy dinner party. Yet easy enough to make a family for a week-night dinner.
Mild flaky flounder stuffed with a mixture of spinach and cheese, baked to perfection in a mornay sauce, is a classic stuffed flounder recipe that won’t break the bank but impress your guests with its simple elegance.
And the great part is, that it takes almost no time to prep! And did I mention it was OMG delicious?
If you love flounder, my Crabmeat Stuffed Flounder and Fried Flounder are two of my favorite recipes.
What ingredients do I need to make Stuffed Flounder Florentine?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Stuffed Flounder Florentine. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Can I make this dish with other fish?
Absolutely! You can use any mild white fish fillets that you like. Tilapia, sole, perch, walleye, and even catfish are good fish to stuff. The fillets just need to be thin enough to roll.
How do I make Stuffed Flounder Florentine?
- Saute the baby spinach in a little olive oil, and let the spinach cook down completely (add a little water if necessary); this should only take a few minutes.
- Place the spinach in a colander to drain. When it’s completely cooled, squeeze out any remaining water. It should be moist, just not wet.
How do I make Béchamel and Mornay Sauce?
- In a saucepan, melt the butter, then add in the flour and mix well to make a roux. Allow the roux to cook on low heat for about 5 minutes to cook the flour.
- Add your heated stock to the roux to make a bechamel.
- Remove ¼ cup of the bechamel to add to your spinach.
- Add the milk, and allow to cook for a few minutes. If the sauce is too thick, it can be thinned out with a little more milk or water. You have now made a Veloute’.
- Add the shredded cheddar (or cheese of your choice) and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- You now have made this into a Mornay sauce. Set aside and allow to cool.
How do I stuff flounder?
The first step is to mix the cheese, spinach, roasted red peppers, and bechamel sauce together to make the stuffing mix for the flounder.
- Place the flounder fillets on a sheet pan or flat surface.
- Divide the stuffing between the flounder fillets.
- Roll the flounder fillets so that the flounder surrounds the stuffing.
- Place the fillets in two individual baking dishes or one large enough to hold all four rolls without them moving around too much. Make sure the fillets are seam-side down so the flounder does not open up while baking.
- Add a little water to the pan and place in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and drain off the water, add the mornay sauce to the casserole dish with the stuffed flounder rolls and return to the oven to bake for an additional 10 minutes ( I overfilled the dishes with mornay sauce and ended up taking some out. You should actually be able to see the flounder rolls).
Finish baking the Stuffed Flounder for 10 – 15 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
Serve with lemon wedges and your favorite side dishes. Since I already had spinach in the dish, I served my stuffed flounder florentine with seasoned rice, and it was ah-mazingly delicious!!
Recipe FAQ’s:
Yes, you can. This dish can be prepared up to a day ahead of time. Make sure to keep it well-covered and refrigerated until it’s time to bake the stuffed flounder. Then place the dishes in a preheated 350-degree F. oven for 35-40 minutes or until the top gets golden and bubbly.
I like to use a blend of cheese in my mixture using mozzarella, goat cheese, and gorgonzola. But you can use cheddar, swiss, gruyere, bleu cheese, fontina, or any cheese that you enjoy eating that melts well.
Yes, you can. Allow it to cool completely, then double-wrap the container with plastic wrap to ensure freshness. When reheating, allow the stuffed flounder to defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then unwrap the plastic wrap and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F has been reached.
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Stuffed Flounder Florentine
Ingredients
Stuffed Flounder
- 1 pound flounder 4 small fillets 3-4 oz each
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- 1 tablespoons roasted red pepper small dice
- 2 oz goat cheese
- 2 oz shredded mozzarella
- 2 oz gorgonzola cheese or cheese of your choice
- ½ cup bechamel sauce
Mornay Sauce
- 2 oz butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 cup chicken stock shrimp stock or vegetable stock may be used instead
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Italian Parsley finely chopped parsley as garnish
Instructions
- Saute the baby spinach in a little olive oil. Let the spinach cook down completely (add a little water if necessary), this should only take a few minutes.
- Place the spinach in a colander to drain. When it's completely cooled, squeeze out any remaining water. It should be moist, just not wet.
- While the spinach is cooling start your Mornay sauce
Mornay Sauce
- In a saucepan melt the butter, then add in the flour and mix well to make a roux. Allow roux to cook on low heat for about 5 minutes to cook the flour.
- Add the stock to the roux to make a bechamel.
- Remove ¼ cup of the bechamel to add to the spinach mixture.
- Add the milk, and allow to cook for a few minutes, If the sauce is too thick it can be thinned out with a little more milk or water. You have now made a Veloute’
- Add the shredded cheddar (or cheese of your choice) and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- You now have made this into a Mornay sauce. Set aside and allow to cool.
Stuffed Flounder
- Mix the goat cheese, shredded mozzarella, and gorgonzola cheese, spinach, roasted red peppers together. Try to separate the spinach a little to get the cheese and bechamel thoroughly mixed in with the spinach. If the mixture looks too dry add a little of the mornay into the mix, but the mixture should be soft and solid not runny.
- Divide the stuffing between the flounder fillets and roll them, so that the flounder surrounds the stuffing.
- Place the fillets in two individual baking dishes or one large enough to hold all four rolls without them moving around too much, make sure the fillets are seam side down so the flounder does not open up while baking.
- Add a little water to the pan and place in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes
- Remove the casseroles from the oven and drain off the liquid. Add the mornay sauce to the casserole until it comes about ¾ of the way up the stuffed flounder rolls. Return to the oven to bake for an additional 10 – 15 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven, garnish with chopped parsley and serve with your favorite sides.
Torviewtoronto
this is healthy haven't made like this
Anna Johnston
This sounds lovely chef, I don't think I've ever done stuffed flounder, but I love the sweet meat of flounder, so it'd be an awesome meal this one.
Victor
Love the combination of flavors!
Rosemary
I don't often cook fish at home, except for salmon. But I love this dish! Anything with spinach. And you gave us lovely sauce lessons, too. Happy Valentine's Day!
Katrina
Looks delish! I'm always afraid to cook fish at home. Yours looks amazing! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Mina @ Angellove's Cooking
Chef, all your fish recipes are so interesting and unique!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
The Mom Chef
I like the new layout, Chef! Well done.
The flounder looks fantastic. I love spinach in anything and tucked inside the fish is deliciousness just waiting to happen. Thanks for another wonderful recipe.
Annie
I know what you mean about the days off. Sometimes I actually have to schedule time for relaxation. He flounder looks delicious and a great recipe to try!
Jennifurla
Gorgeous dish first off, I always cherish each nice dinner with my family…even if my little daughter is smothered and covered in what we are eating. This seems like a romatic dish to me! Lovely.
PS, I will have a guest post to you in a few days! Thanks again.
All That's Left Are The Crumbs
I have never eaten a stuffed fish before but I am a big sucker for Mornay Sauce. Yum!
A multi-dimensional life
This looks wonderful Dennis!
The combination of flavors with the stuffing and the sauce with the cheeses…and it looks beautiful too!
Of course, I'd be fully satisfied to end it with a few pieces of toffee 🙂 I'd love to be entered.
I hope you and your Sweet Valentine enjoy some rest, relaxation and romance!
ladymorgiana
This fish looks delicious and your pics are as always perfect 🙂 thank you for sharing 🙂
Wendy Irene
Toffee!! I would LOVE to be entered to win that 🙂 Thanks for the chance Chef! Although I do love Toffee more than fish, I am very much hoping to come around to it more with your fantastic recipe ideas. Happy Valentine's Day!
Cake Duchess
I'm happy the weather is getting better for you. This fish looks fantastic! I love the stuffing. I'm sure your wife understands the time you spend here when there are lovely meals such as this one.:)Have a great week Dennis!!
Kate
Happy Valentine's Day, Dennis! That is the most inspired take on stuffed flounder I've ever seen. The blue cheese just kicks it up to another level. We'll be trying this 🙂 And, hopefully, we'll be having toffee for dessert. Kate@kateiscooking